The People of India have given sufficient publicity to the Preamble of the Constitution in the run up to and actually on, Republic Day. This must now be moved forward by achieving greater traction in a number of ways. Here are a few suggested next steps.
Lawmakers, members of the judiciary, and police and others involved in maintaining law and order, must also reaffirm the oath to serve all the people, as mentioned in the Preamble to the Constitution. This should apply to all parties at the centre and in the states.
Likewise, all Government servants and all others in the system, as heads of institutions , departments etc, both in central and state services, must also read out the Preamble , and re-affirm their commitment to tender honest advice; not be partisan to any political party; and work for the welfare of the people.
This is also a good time to urge all elected representatives, government servants and citizens to read the Preamble in conjunction with Article 51 A of the Constitution, which lists basic fundamental duties and reminds us of so much that still needs to be done.
These steps are being suggested as an appropriate and meaningful way in which the extraordinary examples of non violent protest by the students and the people across the country can be publicly recognized and acknowledged. Hopefully this will help to ensure that an effective connection between the ‘public servant’ and the ‘Public’ be built for continuing interaction and dialogue in the future.